Mustangs settle for 2nd again
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway sophomore guard Dakota Smyser rises up for a fastbreak layup in the first half of the Mustangs’ 59-46 loss to St. Joseph Christian in the Fairfax Tournament championship game. Smyser finished with 14 points in the Saturday night loss.
The North Nodaway boys basketball team had been in this position before — playing for a tournament championship. The first attempt ended with a 51-49 loss to West Nodaway in the Northwest Missouri Tournament title game.
Saturday night’s Fairfax Tournament didn’t go any better as the Mustangs fell 59-46 to St. Joseph Christian.
“Obviously, second place is not the trophy we wanted to go home with, but with our guys — we weren’t here for a trophy,” North Nodaway head coach Jake Shipman said. “We were here to play well.”
The Mustangs found the paint clogged by the bigger Lions, but still managed to come out of the first quarter trailing by only four, 13-9. St. Joseph Christian finished the first quarter on a 5-0 run.
“They’re very good at crashing the boards,” Shipman said. “I looked at the numbers, and they had 40 and we had like 17 (rebounds). Obviously, if we play like that, it’s going to be very hard to win like that.”
However, the lid all but completely closed on the North Nodaway basket in the second quarter, and the Mustangs managed just four second-quarter points to go into halftime trailing 22-13.
“There was a lid on it. It seemed like we couldn’t get anything to fall,” Shipman said. “There was no rhythm. That goes back to defense. (Christian’s) pressure defense really took us out of what we planned on doing and what we’ve had success doing.”
The second half didn’t start much better. Christian scored the first eight points before junior guard Koby Reynolds went down the middle of the lane for a finger roll with 3:52 to go in the period.
That, however, did spark the Mustangs, who finally found a little bit of a rhythm in the closing minutes of the third quarter to go into the fourth trailing 38-21.
Reynolds closed the deficit to 10, 38-28, with a three-pointer at the 6:27 mark of the fourth quarter, forcing St. Joe Christian to take a timeout to regroup.
That was as close as the Mustangs got despite the efforts of Reynolds and sophomore guard Peyton Coleman, who combined for 17 of North Nodaway’s 25 points in the fourth quarter. Despite outscoring the Lions 25-21 in the fourth quarter, it was too little, too late for the Mustangs, who saw their five-game winning streak come to a halt.
“I pride my guys on that,” Shipman said. “They didn’t give up. They kept going.”
Coleman, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led North Nodaway (9-5) with 15 points — 13 in the second half — while sophomore guard Dakota Smyser added 14 and Reynolds finished with 10. Christian junior guard Matthew Corkins led all scorers with 18 points.
The Mustangs get a small breather after playing six games the last two weeks before hosting Worth County Thursday, Jan. 22. The Tigers beat North Nodaway 49-35 back on Dec. 9 in Grant City.
“This ends a two week spell where we’ve had six game in (12) days, so we’re tired,” Shipman said. “… We’re tired. We need a break. We need to refocus and go back to the drawing board.”
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway sophomore guard Peyton Coleman leans into a St. Joseph Christian defender to stay inbounds during the Mustangs’ 59-46 loss to the Lions in the 83rd annual Fairfax Tournament title game Saturday night.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway junior guard Koby Reynolds drives into the lane during the Mustangs’ 59-46 loss to St. Joseph Christian in the Fairfax Tournament title game Saturday night.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
North Nodaway sophomore guard Peyton Coleman turns away from the St. Joseph Christian defense to protect the ball while going up for a shot in the Mustangs’ 59-46 loss to the Lions in Saturday night’s Fairfax Tournament title game. Coleman finished with a team-high 15 points.
